SCENARIO BOOKS

Balls, Fire and Steel, Napoleonic.

Cards for playing without minis

next year...

ARTILLERY AND AMMUNITION

NAPO (or from 18th century till 1870+)

For 10-12 years I played (80s-early 90s !!) the Empire rules. One day we got Empire IV or V, and there was that little thing saying artillery shooting a small % would put your guns out of ammunition.
Prior to that, every gun, every turn (impulse!!) that could, would fire on something. It was free, 3% to hit a skirmishing figure of the 95th rifles at 1000m so what? Why not try…
Then suddenly in many cases you would have just as many chances to be in trouble than causing some.
Then suddenly scores of near useless die rolling disappeared, our game gained in history, and certainly gained in time saved.
We also had this with Fire and Fury or maybe it was Johnny reB. I vividly remember preparing and artillery “charge”, attack with short ranged confederate guns (12lb/6 lb etc…) to find out that arrived on top of the hill I rolled the dice and hop out of ammunition. One player rightly said this was near idiotic as the artillery guys (as Alexander talking to Longstreet in the film?) would warn you, that it started the run with not enough. One turn being say 15-20minutes and everyone knows they never ever shoot full speed that long (for once would see nothing in the smoke).
Most players hate book keeping with good reasons. On the other end we want a game that gets you into the troubles, the thinking of those commanders of the time.

On The Miniature page here http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=101247And there http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=381677 You have interesting discussions about this.
In Napoleonic times we often know roughly how much ammunition they had and sometimes how many they shot in a day. Let’s say they had between 200 and 400 round per gun available with the guns and in reserve. Of course you lose a bit of it with caissons that get hit (but most would be staggered backwards out of danger) and you lose guns on the other side that have not shot much.
The French at Borodino fired 91,000 artillery rounds and had 587 guns, (a theoretical 155 rounds fired per gun). We can be assured that not all batteries went in line and that many did not much.
We can conclude that those guns both fire quite slowly and not at all much of the time. But we also know gamers, given half a chance will shoot any time, anything.
We seldom get much news in books about any one running into serious ammunition trouble (but I did get it repeatedly for Prussians in 1806!- and the famous Leipzig-but the reserve train of the French was taken).
Many a gamer/ rules writer, concludes that no need to keep track of ammunition as it was not a problem.
I think it takes the donkey by the wrong end: they did not tell of ammo problems because they saved ammo, never to reach that critical level.

You have then 3 schools of thoughts (at least)
One that puts very low chances at long ranges, or simply forgets shooting at long ranges as “they would not to save ammo”.
Then the ones who puts you with some dies results shutting down your battery.
Then those who do not care.
I think they are wrong. The first one (as with WW2 anti tank) will give the opposition a nice cosy security at ranges where it is known artillery could and sometimes would fire with effects. Look at (in doubt- the bible The Kriegspiel 1828) sources. It brings bad games results. Sure they might not shoot to save ammo but you the guy static in column at 1200m, you cannot be sure of it. No doubt a troubling feeling.
So “we don’t care it is just a game with toys”, you lazy guys, go play fantasy…
Or the “we want all”, let’s put numbers of shots per battery. Then boys we go in trouble as not two countries has the same amount, we only have very partial ideas about the reserves, and then to be accurate you would have to get some sort of slow deliberate shooting (distant- wait for fall, estimate results, clear smoke etc.) and fast close shooting. Hell…

What do we want?
Gamers to have a choice, not to either make the guns ineffective (hey they save!) or short ranged, nor all powerful, 24 turns…
We want gamers to be aware of that problem but not to waste time bean counting which anyway would be wrong (how many rounds is one game shot hey?).
It looks like most armies at one point had this system where caissons would go to the reserves and get filled while others kept the guns supplied (which does not mean firing!). And yes they don’t all do it, not all the time etc. then do specific scenario variations ;)

My favourite compromise comes this way:
Each type of guns (so you don’t store your 3lb to shoot more with the 12lbs!!) in an army (and I do it by batteries- compromise with numbers and organisation) has a general number of reserve rounds. Some cards events/ shooting dice, gets you to go low on ammo, then run out (hey to avoid my old shock with the ACw charge) OR take out one round from the reserve, if your guns are linked to whichever place is your artillery park, normally off table. It also gives you a strong incentive to keep that road open. It has then a limited occasional, randomised bookeeping, with enough rounds and guns, it shields you from most freak results, and it pushes you to shoot when it is best.
Overall it save a lot of shooting rolls, gets you to think ahead and at times get into trouble. The guns can keep their efficiency and be the killers they should be.
Of course if you have a short game, few hours of “real time” forget it, shoot and do not bother unless the scenario says it could be a problem..
I fondly remember games for 1815 where I run out before serious attack, wasting too much on bombardment; another in 1870 when my Germans finally succeeding in getting all these pesky French batteries out of the way, found out they had not enough to shoot the infantry. Bad decisions; realistic stuff. Back to top

CAVALRY SPEED AND WARGAMES

Did you feel like your cavalry was moving in deep mud on your battlefield?

Did you have a bit of a hard time understanding why these generals of the 17th-19th century were sensitive about their flanks and cavalry on those flanks? But you not so much on your tables. Surely they must have been so dumb.

Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Bismarck (28 July 1783 – 18 June 1860) 1821 « tactique de la cavalerie » (his books were written for instruction of cavalry officers, and translated in multiple languages; he also fought in the Napoleonic wars. He knows what he is talking about.

Trad : Cavalry at the trot moves three times faster than the accelerated pace of infantry; that is why Zhieten could tell his king: “when I see the enemy my dispositions are already done”.

In case: Ziethen was a renowned cavalry commander of Friedrich the great.

The accelerated pace for infantry was nearly only used for a short time for deployments and changing formations; sometimes from the Napoleonic wars, for fast short light infantry moves.

Another cavalry man Marbot : (at least on these things he would not be controversial ;)

Were he tells you that a horse can easily do 40 km in a few hours, even easier 10-15 km in less than half an hour. He can easily run half an hour (my neighbour, who is not a horse does 1+ hour every other day) so 9-12 km….

Have you ever seen one of your cavalry units run the length of the battlefield of Wachau in a turn of 1/2 hour?

And you will tell me…

Yes I know they are supposed to wait a lot, to get orders etc…so are the infantry. If I ever mentioned this to a rule writer, I got the answer that you”need to fiddle” to fit the table. WHY?

The idea of my rules were “you need to adapt the rules from history, to the space and figures realistically available”.
So what realistic speeds should cavalry have on the battlefield, from the time they started to manoeuvre in 2 ranks and speed up? (mid 18th century) ( as I read from one of those distinguished gentlemen, that when on three ranks it was slower…)

French cavalry was able to move at 4,800 to 5,000 meters (3 to 3.125 miles) per hour and infantry at 3,000 to 3,500 metres (1.9 to 2.2 miles) per hour. However the Regulations provides for movements of upto 4,000 metres (2.5 miles) per hour. The real problem was artillery and other cariage which could seldom exceed 3,000 metres (1.9 miles) per hour because of bad roads. A mixed arms force would move about 3 kph (2 mph) on strategic movement.

Cavalry manoeuvring in presence of the enemy (so on table !) will always move at the trot as then it can easily keep formations and the horses do not get blown. Gallop is only for “action”(charge) and must be used carefully. (hence the need to blown horses and fatigue…jc)
Walk is for road movement or keeping abreast with infantry.

Lt.-Gen. Wilhelm Balck book(s) on tactics turn of the 19th century:

We should not take Von Bredow Totenritt of 1870 as a normal case study. But it should be exceptionally done on tables…

Late period info forBalck, but European cavalry from mid-late 18th to the end of the 19th century are mostly manoeuvring/ operating the same way.

We seem to have a consensus of a 4-5km/h moving on the battlefield. Attacks would be way different, as in our games they single up what could be several charges, or cat’s paly threatening each other, till one gives up.

We have another source, a bible, as for wargamers it is the Kriegspiel of 1818 written by officers who also “were there” for their pairs…as a wargame. Generally if your rules do things contrary to what is there, your rules are wrong.

Kriegspiel
: (I was lazy so got it from 2Fatlardies eddition which should be in every napy gamers, computer.)

One move =2 min

The trot remains maximum speed for all other cases, with a maximum eight
continuous moves at the trot for cavalry and horse artillery. If they exceed this
they lose an index point in any attack which happens in the next two moves.
For long distances they should always take two moves at the walk after eight
at the trot to remain battle-ready.

The 1862 version (more pessimistic) :

Walk on battlefield 250 paces 90m / min

Trot & Walk 400 paces 150m /min

Trot 600 paces 220m /min

They do include minor stops or slowdowns for keeping line formations.

So for a game if we follow this we have for 1/2 hour say 25+ min possible effective forward movement? 6-7 x 450m at the trot, 3-4 at walk. X 150m so 3- 4 km per hour

So I have cavalry move 1.8-2 km per 1/2 hour if they want to be nicely rested, or if they attack, light cavalry a bit faster than the heavies. If they don’t attack, they can move twice. Attacks and double moves have additional fatigue. Rear area and road marches are a bit faster, assuming roads and march formations. And this is quite conservative, but you do have to watch them get around you ...